This invention is directed to a switching device for a coin controlled machine in which the device is actuated in response to completion of a predetermined number of cycle of an operator member. In particular, the invention is directed to an improved switching device that enables the owner/operator to adjust the position of a switch actuating mechanism thereof thereby to select the number of cycles of the operator member necessary to effect activation of the coin controlled machine.
Switching devices are used in combination with coin chute assemblies to initiate the operating cycle of commercial appliances, such a clothes washers, dryers, and the like. The assembly typically is enclosed within a housing mounted on the appliance or machine, and includes a coin chute, such as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,259 and U.S. Pat. No. Re. 31,085, having a coin slide reciprocally mounted in a guide track for inserted and retracted movement. The coin slide is formed having one or more coin receiving slots whereby the presence of an appropriately sized coin in the slot is operative to allow inward or inserted movement of the coin slide to the operate position thereof. The inner end of the coin slide is provided with an operator for actuating a switching device, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,899,622; 2,915,692; 3,735,066; and 4,094,396, upon cyclical movement of the coin slide, closing a circuit to initiate the operating cycle of the machine.
The housing of the assembly usually is provided with a locked coin drawer which prevents unauthorized access to a coin receptacle located below and in spaced relation to the coin slide. The arrangement is such that the coins necessary to operate the appliance or machine are carried by the coin slide upon inserted movement of the slide to its operate position, whereupon the coins exit from the assembly through suitable openings thereby to be transmitted to the coin receptacle.
In the prior art, switching devices have been proposed to control the operation of a coin operated machine by either a single coin slide insertion withdrawal cycle or a given multiplicity of coin slide insertion/withdrawal cycles. Multiple cyclical insertions are necessary due to the limited number of coins than may be carried by the coin slide on any given cycle. In this regard, it is not uncommon to have a situation where the price required to operate or vend the machine is set at a value in excess of the value of the coins that can be carried by the coin slide. For example, if the coin slide can only accommodate two quarters, and the vending price is one dollar, the switching device would be set such that it takes two cyclical insertions/withdrawals of the slide to deposit a total of four quarters before the machine is actuated.
An example of such a switching device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,066, owned by the same assignee of the present application. The switching device of said patent has a pair of series connected switches operated on by the action of two rotary indexed cams whereby each cam actuates a corresponding one of the switches. The cams are indexed by cyclical movements of the coin slide.
More specifically, with reference to U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,066, there is provided a first cam having a plurality of lobes each disposed for actuating engagement with a first switch. The operation is such that the switch is actuated by the cam to a closed state upon the completion of each coin slide cyclical movement. Once the first switch is actuated to its closed state, it is held closed by a latch until released by the action of an electrically operated coil which is energized by conventional means expediently furnished as a part of the machine under control.
A second cam also is provided having a plurality of lobes each disposed for actuating engagement with a second switch. However, unlike the first switch which is actuated to its closed state by the first cam upon the completion of each coin slide cyclical movement, the configuration of the second cam is such that the second switch is maintained in an open state by said cam until the completion of a predetermined number of coin slide cyclical movements, at which time the second switch is actuated by the second cam to its closed state. Electrical conduction through both switches, which is required to effect operation of the machine, is established upon completion of such predetermined number of coin slide movement cycles.
Both of the aforesaid first and second cams are coupled to a common shaft. Reciprocal movement of the coin slide causes an indexing mechanism to rotate the shaft to advance the cams a predetermined angular increment. Thus, depending on the length of the second cam arcuate camming surface, which is a function of the number of lobes, one can select a cam configuration that will effect operation of the machine only after the coin slide completes a predetermined number of cyclical movements.
For example, if the indexing mechanism advances the cams by 60.degree., and both cams have six equally spaced lobes, then both switches will be actuated to their closed states upon completion of a single cyclical movement of the coin slide. If the first cam has six lobes and the second cam has three lobes, the first switch will be actuated to its closed state upon completion of the first cyclical movement of the coin slide, whereupon it is held closed by the electrically releasable latch. However, the configuration of the second cam now is such that the second switch remains open after the first cyclical movement of the coin slide. It is only at the end of the second coin slide insertion/withdrawal cycle, after the second cam has been advanced 120.degree., that the second switch will be actuated to its closed state thereby establishing concurrent conduction through both switches. The number of cyclical insertions of the coin slide necessary to operate the machine can be increased to three by selecting a configuration of the second cam having two lobes.
In the situation where the first cam has six lobes, the number of cyclical insertions required for operation of the machine is bounded within the range of 1 to 3. If the number of lobes on the first cam were increased beyond six, the range of cyclical insertions for machine operation also could be increased accordingly to the lobe ratio between the two cams. However, for practical design reasons, the range could not effectively go much higher than four.
In order to replace the second cam with a cam having a different number of lobes, one must disassemble the switching mechanism to gain access to the cams. This requires some degree of skill on the part of the assembler, and also requres that the machine briefly be taken out of service. If the machine assembler does not have the necessary skill, the entire unit may have to be sent back to the manufacturer. The assembler also has to maintain an inventory of cams having different lobes in order to make changes quickly in the field.
The present invention provides a novel and unique switching device which overcomes many of the limitations associated with the heretofore known devices, particularly the switching device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,066 previously described. The unique features of the invention enable the assembler to quickly select and modify the switching device to operate the machine based on any number of cyclical coin slide insertions within a given range. This is important since the vending price of many machines today is set at a price beyond the capacity of the coins carried by the coin slide on any given cycle. The present invention has greater flexibility than the heretofore known switching devices in that the assembler now can select the number of cyclical insertions required to operate the machine within a range significantly beyond the range of numbers previously available. The switching device of the present inventions does not have to be disassembled to make the change, nor does the assembler have to be skilled or carry any inventory of cam parts.